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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26548714">Dinner</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mgthejerkbender/pseuds/mgthejerkbender'>mgthejerkbender</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, but also some self-worth issues from Lin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:00:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,797</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26548714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mgthejerkbender/pseuds/mgthejerkbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kya comes home early to find Lin doing something unexpected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lin Beifong/Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Kyalin</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lin has never been one for romantic gestures, and Kya has always known this. It is part of what made Lin so incompatible with Tenzin, not that Kya likes to dwell on their time together. Dating her brother’s ex is not exactly what she had planned for her life, but she has long since realized that Beifong women have a way of uprooting even the most carefully laid plans. So Kya has never expected Lin to make her breakfast in bed or bring her flowers or anything that other girlfriends have done. It’s not why she’s with Lin. There’s something about dating this late in life that strips away any of the bullshit they’ve both had to deal with before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she gets home that evening after working a double shift at the clinic, she’s alarmed to smell something burning as she approaches their door, and her hands fumble as she pulls out her keys. A wafting of smoke and a barrage of curses greet her when she finally does get the door open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lin?” she calls, more than a little alarmed.  “Lin, are you all right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hears a soft curse and then Lin calls out, “Yeah, I’m fine. No worries. No need to panic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya sets down her bag and makes her way through the smoke to the kitchen where Lin looks to have no fewer than three things on fire. “Spirits, Lin, what are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin is in her tank top, her hair pulled back from her face, concentrating on the stove with as much intensity as she uses in her interrogations. “I’m cooking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re certainly doing something, but I don’t think it’s cooking.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re home early. It was supposed to be done before you got here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya tilts her head. “Do you want some help before someone calls the fire department, and the headlines read ‘Chief of Police tries to burn down building?’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got it under control.” But she curses again and hisses as she burns her hand on the stove. “Shit.” She brings her hand to her mouth, trying to sooth the wound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For spirits’ sake, Lin, let me.” Kya takes Lin’s hand and bends some water from her pouch, running it over the injury. “You’re much too stubborn for your own good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been told this on occasion.” Lin winces, then sighs as Kya heals her burn. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing anyway, besides trying to make us homeless?” Kya reaches around and starts pulling pots off the stove. Whatever was in them isn’t salvageable anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you. I was cooking.” Lin frowns at the pots. “I didn’t think it would be that hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well.” Kya glances at the disaster around her. “I think your talents lie elsewhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin sighs and rubs her temple. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry? For what?”  Kya cocks her head, frowning. “No lasting damage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grimacing, Lin turns her head away and mumbles, “I wanted to do something….nice for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya presses her lips together to try and keep from smiling. She knows Lin will not appreciate that, not right now. But her sarcasm gets the better of her. “By burning down the apartment? We can just move, if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Growling, Lin snatches her hand away. “I was trying to cook you a nice fucking dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya reaches back for her. “Hey, hey it's okay. I was joking. I do appreciate the effort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin crosses her arms and scowls, clearly embarrassed. “I just wanted to do something nice for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sweetheart.” Kya cups her cheeks and kisses her softly. “You are a gift.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin’s frown deepens. “No, I’m not. I’m cranky and stubborn and reckless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And self-aware, apparently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kya.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lin, my love, I knew all of this when we started dating, and I accepted it.” She had been surprised, really, when they got together, to find that Lin has some very deep seeded issues with her own self-worth. She supposes Toph is to blame, and she does not like to think of her favorite aunt that way, but the consequences of Toph’s parenting style are painfully obvious to anyone who can connect the dots. Lin and Su both are disasters in their own ways, and Kya often wonders what could have been different if they’d had the support they needed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have to put up with me.” Lin’s sulking now, and it would be cute if it wasn’t so tiresome. “You could have any woman you wanted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know. Believe me. It just so happens that I have a thing for surly earthbenders who can’t cook.” It’s always a fine line she walks, balancing Lin’s need for validation and her extreme aversion to compliments. There are times when she wishes things were easier, but at the end of the day, Lin is more than worth the effort. She’s not sure if there’s anyone braver in the whole world than the woman before her, anyone more willing to give their entire self to help and protect people. And she knows that beneath the gruff exterior, Lin’s heart is full of love, even if she’s nearly incapable of showing it without spontaneously combusting. Kya used to think this was just a trait of earthbenders, but as she’s gotten older, she’s realized it’s just a trait of Beifongs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s your mom’s recipe,” Lin mumbles. “She promised it wasn’t hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Kya can’t bring herself to tease anymore, because her chest is tight, and her throat is closed, and she thinks that maybe she really is the luckiest girl in the world, all joking aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you very much, Lin,” she says carefully, leaning forward to kiss her girlfriend’s forehead. “And once we clean this up, I will pick us up something from that place on the corner you like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not upset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, baby. I mean, I don’t love that our apartment smells like smoke now, but I’m not upset with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you’re not upset because I snapped at you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya takes a deep breath, thinking before she answers. “I wish you wouldn’t lash out,” she says slowly. “But I also know you’re working on it.” And Lin really is working on it, which is more than Kya ever thought she would get. “I’m not Tenzin, I’m not Su, I’m not your mother. I love you for who you are, Lin. You don’t need to be gruff with me or push me away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin looks away from her, ashamed. “I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you?” Kya does her best to sound gentle and kind, and Lin looks back up at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do. It’s just...hard sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Kya wrapped her arms around Lin and held her close. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everyone knows what a hardass you are.” She kisses Lin very softly before getting up to start cleaning up the mess Lin has made.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get that,” Lin insists, getting up with Kya. “It’s my mess, I’ll clean it up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a waterbender. I can do it faster.” She takes out her pouch and starts to bend the pots clean, proving her point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now you’re just showing off,” Lin says, shaking her head with a small smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you impressed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, completely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. That was the idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They end up cleaning the kitchen together, and the meal they pick up is infinitely more delicious than anything Lin could make, though Kya would never, ever say so. And as they spend the evening reading together on the couch, Kya thinks she has finally found her home. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lin tries cooking again, but to Kya's horror. It goes better this time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She stretches and groans, rolling over to press herself against Lin. And her face meets only the mattress. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kya punches the pillow and looks at the clock. Six in the morning. On the weekend. On Lin’s day off.</p>
<p>Kya leans over the side of the bed and finds her robe on the floor. She pulls it on and stomps to Lin’s office, expecting to find her wife there working on reports. But it is empty. Frowning, Kya pads out to the den and still no Lin. But she does hear sounds from the kitchen, and her eyes widen.</p>
<p>“Lin?” she calls with growing apprehension. “Are you cooking?”</p>
<p>“It’s under control,” Lin yells back. “Go back to sleep.”</p>
<p>“No way. Not with you loose in the kitchen.” Kya rounds the corner to see Lin standing over the stove, two pots on the burners. And nothing on fire. Kya narrows her eyes suspiciously. “What’s going on? It is your day off, and I was hoping to get a morning fuck in.”</p>
<p>“We can still do that,” Lin says absently, concentrating on a cookbook, glasses perched on her nose. Those are a fairly recent addition that Lin usually fails to wear. “But later. I’m trying to get this right.”</p>
<p>“You’re turning down sex?”</p>
<p>“For now.” Lin moves one of the pots off the heat and pulls a couple of spice jars from the cabinet.</p>
<p>“All right, who are you and what have you done with my wife?”</p>
<p>Lin gives her a flat look before turning back to the stove. “I’m not allowed now?”</p>
<p>“No, you are.” Kya comes to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder. “I just want to check for head injuries first.”</p>
<p>“You’re very hilarious. You should go for a career in stand up.”</p>
<p>“So I’ve been told.” Kya kisses Lin’s cheek. “Seriously, what are you doing?”</p>
<p>“I’m learning to cook.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you think it’s a little late in the game for that? I mean, you’ve survived this long.”</p>
<p>“If you must know, our anniversary is in a month, and I am going to cook you a nice meal.” Lin stirs the pot that is still on the heat. “For real this time.” She shrugs, and Kya presses her lips together to keep from smiling. Lin may be gruff and rough and tough as nails, but she can be so very considerate at times. Kya almost makes a joke about food poisoning, but she just rests her head on Lin’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“I love you, did you know that?”</p>
<p>Lin glances at her, brow raised. “Oh that’s a relief. I’ve been worried the last ten years.”</p>
<p>“I’m serious.”</p>
<p>Smiling, Lin looks down at the stove. “Yeah, I love you, too.”</p>
<p>“You’re so sweet,” Kya said. “My best wife.”</p>
<p>“You have others?”</p>
<p>“Oh, so many,” Kya says, flapping her hand. “But none of them ever cooked for me.”</p>
<p>“Good. I have a leg up on the competition.”</p>
<p>“Don’t tell the others, but I think you’re my favorite.” She grins and kisses Lin. “All right, I am going back to bed. Don’t burn the place down?”</p>
<p>“I’ll certainly do my best. Oh, hey, Kya?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“You still want to fuck later?”</p>
<p>“Absolutely.” And suddenly, Kya does not mind waking up early.</p>
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